Half of Americans uninterested in World Cup 2026 as poll reveals deep indifference to host nation's tournament

An Emerson College poll conducted just days before the start of World Cup 2026 found that 45 percent of American respondents have no interest in the tournament, with only 22 percent saying they are very interested. The survey of 1,200 people, carried out on June 7 and 8, reveals a striking level of indifference toward a competition being staged, in part, on American soil.

A third of respondents said they had some interest in the event, leaving the majority either lukewarm or entirely disengaged. Scottish fans who travelled to Boston to watch matches told BBC News Scotland that some of the Americans they encountered were unaware the tournament was even taking place. One fan, spotted in his Scotland jersey at a post office, said the American woman behind the counter asked what had brought him to the country. “She didn’t even know the World Cup is on,” he said. A second supporter noted that while the pubs were welcoming, “I don’t think anybody knows that there’s a World Cup on.”

The poll found that interest varies sharply by age. More than 70 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds said they were either very or somewhat interested, with only 19 percent expressing no interest at all. Among those aged 60 to 69, the picture reversed: 58 percent said they had no interest whatsoever, and just 11 percent described themselves as very interested.

Racial demographics also produced notable differences. Sixty-three percent of Black respondents and around 60 percent of Hispanic respondents said they planned to follow the tournament closely. Only 35 percent of white respondents said the same.

The poll is not the only signal of muted enthusiasm. A Financial Times analysis found that nearly 180,000 tickets were still available on FIFA’s official resale portals as recently as this week. Ticket prices have been widely criticised as prohibitive: regular seats for the United States opener were priced as high as $2,735 — more than the cost of a seat at the 2022 World Cup final — while the cheapest seats for that game were around $1,000. The Athletic has reported that prices across all stages of World Cup 2026 are higher than equivalent tickets for any previous FIFA tournament. In some cases, secondary-market sellers have had to discount their holdings by approximately 20 percent simply to find buyers.